MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Prior to his fight, hometown favorite Alan Belcher told anyone that would listen that he had been disrespected by being relegated to the preliminary card of Saturday’s “UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez” event.

Once in the cage, Belcher let his hands argue for him.

Belcher earned a first-round TKO over Brazilian slugger Wilson Gouveia in a 195-pound catchweight contest that capped off an evening of action-packed prelims at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.

The action preceded the evening’s main card, which was televised on pay per view.

Originally scheduled as a middleweight contest, Gouveia and Belcher agreed to meet in a 195-pound contest when the Brazilian found the weight-cut difficult. Belcher could have forced the issue, but he agreed to the new weight. Forfeiting a purse penalty from Gouveia by modifying the contract, Belcher made sure to earn his win bonus.

While the action didn’t unfold at a frantic pace, Belcher and Gouveia did engage in a few toe-to-toe exchanges as the first round opened. Both appeared a bit woozy from the shots, but neither would back down. As the two fired off powerful rounds at each other skulls, it was “The Talent” who found the target first with a series of powerful hooks and uppercuts.

Gouveia collapsed to the floor, and Belcher rushed in to finish the job at the 3:03 mark of the first frame.

Following the win, Belcher said it was a joy to fight in front of familiar faces.

“All my friends, family, everyone I know is here,” Belcher said. “I look around and see a bunch of faces I know.”

Belcher also said the only faces he wants to see in the cage going forward are those that will help him get a shot at current middleweight champ Anderson Silva.

“I’m ready to step up and be the next contender,” Belcher said. “I want that belt, baby.”

After a brief shoving match between lightweights Matt Wiman and Shane Nelson broke out at Friday’s weigh-in ceremonies, Saturday’s preliminary card bout between the two was expected to deliver real fireworks. While the bout started with some back-and-forth action, the momentum quickly shifted to one side.

Wiman opened a gash on Nelson’s forehead in the opening frame, and the wound opened again in the second. Wiman landed shots on the feet and in Nelson’s guard throughout the fight, and he rarely seemed in danger.

The action was slowed briefly in the final frame as Wiman delivered a crushing illegal kick to Nelson’s groin. But the Hawaiian carried on, if only to absorb more damage from his opponent. Wiman finished the final round strong – first looking for a rear-naked choke before settling on a flurry of blows from the top position. The performance certainly halted Wiman’s streak of three-straight “Fight of the Night” bonuses, but it earned him a much-needed decisive win.

Little was known about Brazilian-born lightweight Ricardo Funch prior to his octagon debut on Saturday night. If anything, Funch proved he’s got heart.

Undefeated opponent Johny Hendricks put his elite-level wrestling on full display as he earned takedowns nearly at will – including several powerful slams. Hendricks’ striking in the clinch and jiu-jitsu also showed an astounding improvement just seven fights into his MMA career. Funch battled through powerful uppercuts and impressive knee strikes on the feet while also fending off several choke attempts on the canvas.

The action became increasingly one-sided as time wore on, but Funch refused to be put away. Instead, Hendricks was awarded a shutout unanimous-decision win. Two judges saw that fight 30-27, while the third awarded Hendricks a rarely seen 30-25 nod.

After the win, Hendricks said he was pleased with his performance.

“I just wanted to show that I had jiu-jitsu, and I did it against a pretty good purple belt,” Hendricks said. “He’s a tough dude. I hit him with everything I had.

“I’ve got to thank God and all my trainers. Those guys are awesome and helped me get the win tonight.”

Hendricks (7-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has now earned seven-straight wins to open his career with just two going the distance. Funch (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) loses for the first time in his MMA career but may have earned another look with a gutsy 15-minute performance.

The only thing missing from the evening’s third preliminary bout was WEC general manger Reed Harris as middleweights Rousimar Palhares and Lucio Linhares battled for Zuffa’s “Hares” superiority.

Palhares and Linhares put on a grappling clinic during their round-and-a-half battle. Palhares often worked himself to top position, but it was Linhares’ triangle choke in the second that nearly saw the fight end. However, Palhares survived and made Linhares pay for the mistake shortly after.

After a stand-up, the pair quickly returned to their preferred position on the canvas, and Palhares secured a quick heel-hook that caught the crowd – and Linhares – by surprise. A soft tap at the 2:31 mark signaled the end of the fight, and Palhares hand was raised in victory.

Palhares had been on the shelf for 11 months with a fractured tibia, and he said the layoff affected his performance.

“All the hard work and the training paid off,” Palhares said. “I’m a little tired. I was injured after my last fight, and I felt a bit cold coming into this one.

“It feels great to get the win. I’m glad I did my job and got the submission.”

With the submission win, Palhares (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) now has two-straight UFC victories. The loss in in his UFC debut sees a six-fight win streak end for Linhares (13-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC).

Johnson, Grant earns come-from-behind wins in exciting card-openers

After being soundly defeated in the finals of “The Ultimate Fighter 9,” welterweight DaMarques Johnson had something to prove entering his preliminary card bout with Edgar Garcia. That something ended up being his durability.

The fighters delivered everything they could during their four minutes in the cage. Toe-to-toe swinging and exciting grappling exchanged brought the crowd to a roar during several moments of the fight. But when Garcia floored Johnson with a right hand, the beginning of the end seemed near.

It was, but there was a decided plot twist.

As Garica looked to follow to the ground for a finish, Johnson caught him flush with an upkick. As Garcia fell forward, Johnson deftly locked in a triangle choke, squeezed, and earned the tap at the 4:03 mark.

Following the victory, Johnson said the finishing sequence was pure improvisation.

“That was spur of the moment,” Johnson said. “That was some straight-up Jeremy Horn-jitsu. I can’t really remember much because he hits so hard.”

The win was Johnson’s (10-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC) first official UFC victory. Meanwhile, after a heartbreaking split-decision loss to Brad Blackburn in June, Garcia (7-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has now dropped two-straight in the UFC and finds himself in a precarious position on the UFC’s bulging roster.

In the evening’s opening fight, Canadian T.J. Grant found himself in trouble early and appeared well on his way to dropping two-straight fights in the UFC. On his back early, Grant was forced to defend a flurry of punches from welterweight opponent Kevin Burns in the early going.

After surviving the initial rush, Grant took control of the fight by pushing Burns to the canvas and working well from the top. Burns was able to escape back to his feet, but after a brief delay for an illegal kick to the groin by Grant, the Canadian floored Burns with a big right hand. With nary a second to spare, Grant rushed in with a series of punches that forced the TKO stoppage.

Following the bout, Grant admitted he was in real trouble early in the fight.

“I recovered real quick, but for a second, I was on the canvas, and I didn’t know what happened,” Grant said. “My hat’s off to Kevin Burns. I know what kind of fight he brings, and I thank him for that. Hard work pays off.”

With the win, Grant (15-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) rebounds from a UFC 100 loss to Dong Hyun Kim. Meanwhile, the loss is Burns’ (7-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC) third-straight in the organization and will likely lead to his release.

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